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From The Militant, Vol. VI No. 45, 30 September 1933, p. 4.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).
President William Green is advancing claims for the coming A.F. of L. convention, to begin October 2, to become the most momentous gathering of this body in sixteen years. This comparison refers to the wartime convention held n Buffalo, in 1917, at which Samuel Gompers, together with his whole staff, made their “heroic” efforts to harness the American Federation of Labor as an auxiliary machinery to serve the interests of the imperialist war mongers. The comparison is ominously sinister in its implication.
No doubts need exist of this gathering becoming a momentous one. It will be so, not by virtue of what the skilled pie-card artists in attendance can be expected to do, but by the special period and exceptional conditions under which it takes place. In the first place this convention gathers under the sign of another “heroic” effort to harness the American working masses in the chains of the brand new NRA machinery of regulating class relations and reinforcing the means of keeping them in subjection as a class. But on the other hand, the very developments growing out of this, already indicate that the A.F. of L. is arriving at its cross roads with a speed which is truly American. How it will attempt to, or rather how it will fail to cope with this new situation will be of decisive importance for the future.
The A.F. of L. executive claim at least 500,000 new members. There is no reason to doubt this figure, the acrobatic arithmetics of Statchel – the “head” of the TUUL – notwithstanding. In a Daily Worker article, of September 19, by the process of deducting from the A.F. of L. claims and padding the TUUL claims, all on paper, he succeeds in proving, apparently to his own satisfaction that the latter has made gains amounting to almost fifty percent of that of the former. Despite this juggling the truth remains that the overwhelming trend of labor organization flows at this moment, toward the A.F. of L, while the TUUL unions, in making certain gains in isolated cases, are being wiped out elsewhere; and precisely in those cases where the A.F. of L. has growth to record. Once more, and by the process of life itself, this proves the fact that the official party TUUL policy runs in violent contradiction to the curve development of the living movement.
The present record growth of the A.F. of L. almost amounts to a stampede with genuine mass strikes everywhere for recognition of its unions. In such cases where the party unions exist alongside of them the former are, by their radically false policy, forced to trail behind, in many cases they are even more conservative in their demands, and impotent to influence the workers where they are not entirely eliminated. These are salient facts of which the reactionaries do not fail to take notice. Revolutionists, above all, must take notice and act accordingly.
It would be idle to speculate on what the reactionary A.F. of L. capitalist agents will do at this convention. First of all they will endeavor to strengthen their own positions and strengthen their own relations with capitalism, by correspondingly reinforcing the means of holding the working masses in subjection. It is in this sense, and distinctly in this sense, that they have embraced the NRA. The A.F. of L. will demand adequate representation in the machinery created under the codes, says Green. Will this be for the purpose of advancing the ideas of workers’ control of production? Will these leaders demand that the books of the industrial enterprises be thrown open for the inspection of labor’s representatives and by this method begin to give labor a say in the matter of control of production? Of course not. The A.F. of L. demand will be advanced with the purpose of strengthening the relations with capital for more effective class collaboration under the new conditions.
But there are also other trends indicated for the coming convention. The Metal Trades Department is now about to propose the industrial form of organization for the basic industries. This shows the pressure to which the A.F. of L. will likely feel itself compelled to yield, if not now, then later. This pressure will increase under the new conditions. Most significant, however, is the statement made by Green that the A.F. of L. “is going to be the recognized all-embracing spokesman for American labor. That means there is no room in the United States for any other labor movement.”
That no efforts will be spared to make good on this threat is certain. To that the convention will unquestionably be keyed up. That is one of the duties which American capitalism imposes upon its agents within labors’ ranks to be carried out with the assistance of the NRA. Its intention is to crush any and all militant or progressive unions outside of the A.F. of L. and, in this manner, help to head off and forestall the development of working class militancy finding organized expression. For the moment this may be comparatively easy; but it will begin to really bring to the fore the contradictions of the A.F. of L. position because it Implies a more open suppression of the militancy bound to develop within its own ranks. In this lies the prospects for revolts from within.
The A.F. of L. officialdom; is entering upon its thorny road. The reconstitution of a Left wing is now more essential than ever.
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